One Last Ticket to 2026: Morocco to Host Africa’s Crucial World Cup Playoffs in November

CAF confirms Morocco as the venue for the mini tournament that will decide Africa’s final World Cup hopeful

One Last Ticket to 2026: Morocco to Host Africa’s Crucial World Cup Playoffs in November

The Confederation of African Football CAF's officially announced that Morocco will host the African playoff stage for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The tournament will determine the final African nation to compete for spot in next year’s expanded 48 team World Cup in North America.

Playoffs to decide Africa’s final contender

According to CAF’s qualification format, 9 group winner will earn direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup while the four best runners up will advance to CAF playoff tournament for place in the intercontinental playoff scheduled for Mar 2026.

The playoff will be played as mini knockout competition in Morocco from 13 to 16 November 2025 featuring 2 semifinal and final.

The fixtures will be determined by FIFA rankings released on 23 Oct, with the top ranked team facing the lowest ranked and the 2nd meeting the 3rd.

Format of the CAF Playoff

• Semifinal 1 - 1st ranked runner up vs 4th ranked runner up
• Semifinal 2 - 2nd ranked runner up vs 3rd ranked runner up
• Final: Winners meet to decide Africa’s representative in the intercontinental playoff

CAF clarified that when ranking second placed teams, results against bottom ranked sides in each group will be excluded following Eritrea’s withdrawal from Group E earlier in the campaign.

CAF has officially confirmed that Morocco will host the Play-off for the best four runners-up in the African Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Play-off will determine which African nation advances to the Intercontinental Play-offs for a potential place at the FIFA… pic.twitter.com/mpRQMeH5uk

— 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 | 𝗠𝗙𝗡 (@MFN_TW) October 12, 2025

Morocco’s expanding role in African football

The North African nation's set to host the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON from December 2025 to January 2026 as well as the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup and the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for 3rd straight edition.

Morocco along with Portugal & Spain will also co host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, further underlining its growing influence in global football.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe praised Morocco’s continued investment in football infrastructure saying the country has shown "exceptional leadership & commitment to football development across the continent".

🚨OFFICIAL: CAF has set dates for the playoff tournament of the 4 best runners up.

Semi Finals : 13th November 2025
Final: 16th November 2025

The tournament will be played in Morocco. pic.twitter.com/8Oif8d0OBT

— Duncan 🦅 (@duncangutse) October 12, 2025